When the Houston Rockets acquired Carmelo Anthony this summer, it was viewed as an opportunity for the veteran scorer to get his career back on track following a subpar stint with Oklahoma City. However, it soon became evident that this experiment wasn’t going as expected, and reports indicated that we were on the verge of seeing the Anthony era in Houston come to an end.
After days of reports and speculation, we have finally reached the finish line. According to a report by Adrian Wojnarwski of ESPN, the Rockets and Anthony will part ways on Thursday, although the franchise does not plan on placing him on waivers right away. In fact, he’s going to stay on Houston’s roster for the time being, but he just won’t be with the team.
Carmelo Anthony’s brief stop with the Houston Rockets is over, league sources tell ESPN. Anthony will part ways with team, although there are no immediate plans to place 10-time All-Star on waivers. Team announcement is expected before Rockets play Golden State tonight.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 15, 2018
For now, Anthony will remain on the Rockets roster, but will not rejoin the team, sources said. Anthony’s wisest course of action could be exercising patience and allowing changes in league rosters – through trades, injuries, team needs — to create more playing options for him. https://t.co/L5aC5Ueah0
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 15, 2018
The Rockets made the official announcement shortly after Woj’s initial report.
The Carmelo experiment in Houston is over. pic.twitter.com/Q9gCrx8Lur
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) November 15, 2018
Anthony appeared in 10 games with a pair of starts for the Rockets, averaging 13.4 points in 29.4 minutes a night. Both of those represent career lows, and while his efficiency numbers aren’t quite that bad, they were still subpar, as he connected on 40.5 percent of his shots from the field and hit threes at a 32.8 percent clip.
Now Anthony will sit and wait, ostensibly taking his time for the right situation to pop up … unless, of course, he decides to heed Tracy McGrady’s advice and call it a career.
